A pachinko game machine is a game machine having a vertically arranged gaming board on which a number of obstruction nails are dispercedly provided, with which a player successively propels pachinko balls, being game play media, from a lower position of the game machine toward an upper position in a vertical direction so as to drop the pachinko balls into a winning section (hole) provided on the gaming board. A predetermined number of pachinko balls are discharged into a tray provided at the bottom of the game machine when a pachinko ball drops into a winning section. The pachinko balls discharged into the tray can be used for propelling onto the gaming board again. Pachinko balls which have not dropped into any winning sections are collected through a missing ball discharging section. Players can exchange the pachinko balls they retain for various gifts in accordance with the number of retained pachinko balls.
According to one such pachinko game machine, there is provided, on the gaming board, a variable winning section which receives a plurality of pachinko balls at a time under a particular condition, as well as some winning sections which are always open and receive only one pachinko ball at a time. The particular condition is that, for example, after a pachinko ball drops into a specific winning section, a plurality of symbols are rotated to be displayed on three display positions arranged horizontally on a display section of the gaming board as if they are three rotation drums of a slot machine so that the three symbols stopped sequentially as time passes match one another or become a predetermined specific combination (hereinbelow, a big-win combination). For example, in a case where symbols indicative of 16 alphabets of A to P are displayed to change dynamically on each of the three display positions, the big-win combinations are combinations in which three display symbols match one another, that is, 16 combinations of "A,A,A" to "P,P,P". The variable winning section has, for example, a cover for covering a rectangular opening provided on the gaming board, and although the cover is usually closed so as to be integral with the gaming board, in a case of the so-called big-win where the above condition is satisfied, the cover is opened so as to allow a number of pachinko balls to drop thereinto in a short period of time. The state where the cover is opened is called a "big-winning state". The variable winning section is set to change into the big winning state intermittently at predetermined times with regard to one big-win. That is, the cover of the variable winning section is closed after a predetermined number of pachinko balls have dropped in or after a lapse of a predetermined time period during one big-winning state so as to release the big-winning state.
In view of a case where pachinko balls happen to drop into the specific winning section while the dynamic-change display section displays symbols changing dynamically, the number of such pachinko balls dropping into the specific winning section, up to 4, is displayed on a winning number display section so as to assure the rights to subsequently have the display of symbols changing dynamically for the number of times by the dynamic-change display section.
Examples of the above-described pachinko game machine are described in Japanese Patent Publications SHO 63-21511, HEI 2-5102, and HEI 2-29350.
By the way, in a conventional pachinko game machine, in order to attract players' interest, arrangement of the specific winning sections on the gaming board is well planned. For example, some pachinko game machines have two or more specific winning sections provided thereon, and some have a special winning section through which pachinko balls move so that they drop into the specific winning section easily thereafter.
Furthermore, in a conventional pachinko game machine, in order to attract players' interest, the symbols which are changed dynamically by the dynamically-change display section are well planned. For example, some pachinko game machines use symbols featuring popular characters or symbols of mahjong tiles and playing cards as well as numbers and alphabetic characters.
However, in any of the pachinko game machines using any of the symbols, there is no difference in that, when a plurality of display positions are in a big-win combination, it is a big-win.
As described above, the conventional pachinko game machines are the same in their basic playing method with different symbols used, although there are various approaches with respect to the arrangement.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a pachinko game machine having a card game playing function with which a player can play a game having the atmosphere of a card game.